Vera Wang

Sprites. That's what came to mind watching Vera Wang's collection. Among the elements: tiny little vests with detachable peplums in cotton piqué and oversize eyelet. Skirts made from sheer parachute silk that grazed the thighs in the front and trailed weightless in the back. Gowns with diamond-shape cutouts on the chest. Gauzy leggings. All that was missing was a pair of gossamer wings. The show began in white; Ladurée macaron colors entered the picture about halfway through; and by the end it was psychedelic. Wang took cues from Alice in Wonderland, and we went down the rabbit hole with her. The prints that closed the show were especially trippy. Inspired by eighteenth-century wallpaper, they almost looked like they were dripping off their delicate chiffon and organza dresses. Was that the Mona Lisa on Arizona Muse's hem?

Wang has been retooling her aesthetic of late, but this collection is as antithetical to the pretty, people-pleasing bridal business that's her bread and butter as anything she's ever done. Kim Kardashian, who wore a gown designed by Vera to her wedding earlier this summer, was sitting front-row today. There was a bit too much fairy tale in these clothes, though, to picture them stepping off the runway and into the real world.